UNRELEASED
Sea Level The Unreleased Album
By Craig Eason To understand why Sea Level has an unre-
leased album, we have to go back to the collapse of Capricorn Records in 1979/80. Like several of the Capricorn bands, Sea Level ended up on Arista records under the control of Clive Davis. It seems thatDavis wanted, in a changing musical landscape, to "position" each of his new acts in a place to improve sales in an environment where Southern Rock was falling out of favor. So - the Allman Brothers adopted a Keytar for live per- formances, and included uncharacteristic "pop" tunes on their two 1980s Arista albums, culmi- nating in an unreleased album (more a collection of demos) of their own. The Dixie Dregs added a singer for the first time
to their unique instrumental compositions. And Sea Level plumped for an edgier,
rockier sound on their 1980 release "Ballroom" - losing their jazzy / fusion elements in the process. Not one of the above scored ANY commercial success - with all heading for break up or 80s ob- scurity.
To compound Sea Level's problems,
founding member and bassist Lamar Williams was having some personal issues, leading to his exit from the band. It was later found he was suf- fering from Agent Orange related cancer from which he sadly died in 1983. Lamar's exit dramat- ically changed the band's sound. There is a recording from 1982 on film and
a BBC Rock Hour radio show (available on a VERY rare vinyl) of that late Sea Level line up. Check Leavell, Randall Bramblett, Jimmy Nalls and Davis Causey (Jaimoe is long gone) are all present from 1978's Cats On the Coast, but the rest of the guys are new. Front and center is a new bassist - Paul
Broduer, bouncing with energy, slapping and popping his instrument, in direct contract to Lamar's quiet demeanour and complex plectrum
groove, so essential to the Sea Level sound. This line up went in to the studio to produce a new album, with Clive Davis looking for a hit single. Very soon after the sessions started all was
not well with the new young bassist. Paul had developed cancer - and, despite treat- ment, died during the sessions. This tragic turn of events stopped the sessions in their tracks. Chuck Leavell, in his book, "Between Rock and A Home Place" explains that internal tensions even brought about disagreements with his friend Randall Bramblett. The sessions did however, bring about a commercially available single "Make You Feel Love Again," sung by Blue Miller, mentioned by Chuck in his interview before the 1983 BHLT show at The Coffee Pot. But the rest was left unfinished. Southern Rock fans may re- member this track from Wet Willie's 1977 "Manorisms" album. Wind forward to the late 90s. I had heard
on the rumour mill that there was an unreleased Sea Level album, but could find no evidence, until I made contact with one of the finest gentleman in the Southern Rock world - Mr Jimmy Nalls. He confirmed that was such a thing - and would get a tape of it from the producer / engineer, as he did not have one himself. He had just finished his "Aint No Stranger" album at this time. So - what do you get on this seldom heard
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